Monday, August 26

Thursday, September 1

Friday, September 2

Saturday, September 3

Through his work with such bands as Sabertooth, whose late-night gigs at the Green Mill have become as much a part of Uptown lore as Al Capone's hangs at that historic club, Dan Trudell gained a reputation as one of the best Hammond B-3 organ players on the scene.

Mwata Bowden has so distinguished himself as an educator, in settings as diverse as the University of Chicago, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the Ravinia Festival and Chicago Public Schools, it's surprising he has the time to lead so many quality bands.

When tenor saxophonist Eric Schneider and longtime co-leader and alto saxophonist Pat Mallinger are trading soul-bopping riffs, it's difficult not to think of the great Chicago saxophone pairing of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt.

In the wake of such groundbreaking bands as the World Saxophone Quartet and ROVA, jazz and contemporary classical music have seen plenty of all-saxophone bands. But it's difficult to find one with quite the reach, or outsize personality, of Chicagoan Cameron Pfiffner's Adolphe's Ax.

Today's jazz boasts a host of second- and third-generation artists, including Ravi Coltrane, Joshua Redman, Nasheet Waits, Petra Haden and, of course, the Marsalis clan. None of them has carried on the family tradition with more devotion than Maggie Brown and her sister Africa Brown, daughters of the late Oscar Brown, Jr.

A newly-commissioned piece entitled Soul Migration by Chicago trumpeter, composer and bandleader Orbert Davis will trace the route of the people who made the trek northward with a suite that takes listeners on a moving journey of their own

Sunday, September 4

The violin has played an important if sometimes overlooked role in jazz, as witness the historic contributions of such diverse string players as Stuff Smith, Jean-Luc Ponty and Billy Bang. Building on the achievements of such role models, Chicagoan James Sanders occupies his own special niche as a violinist in bridging the Latin music he was born into as the son of a Dominican

For 15 years, guitarist John McLean and a bunch of his string-bending friends have participated in a Christmas charity performance at Chicago's historic Green Mill. Today, festgoers will be treated to a different kind of seasonal cheer when McLean, he of the exquisite lyrical touch, reunites with his partners in Guitar Madness – Dave Onderdonk, Mike Allemana, John Moulder, Neil

"AfroMiddleEasternJazzFusion – Flying gracefully through mystic realms of musical fantasy." That's how this longstanding electric band describes itself on its website, and since its long-running Friday night stint at the Ethiopian restaurant Ras Dashen in Edgewater, its groove-based, improvisational music has grown only more infectious and transporting.

On his 2014 album, Under the Skin, saxophonist Edwin Daugherty presented himself as a jazz artist on the synth-pop end of the spectrum, as you might have expected coming from someone who has played with the likes of Barry White and Roberta Flack.

Drummer Greg Rockingham may have been chief instigator and founding member of the late and lamented Deep Blue Organ Trio, but with the brilliant soloists Bobby Broom and Chris Foreman cutting loose on guitar and organ, respectively, he didn't get the attention he deserved. Today, as the leader of his own terrific quartet – four-fifths of his Soul Message Band – he stands to c

Founded in 2006 by Boston-based trumpeter and arranger Brian Carpenter, the 10-piece Ghost Train Orchestra looks back to the very beginnings of the jazz ensemble. Its sound is derived from the work of seminal artists including Chicago legend Tiny Parham, Fletcher Henderson, Fess Williams and Charlie Johnson.

"Music is meant to lift people up, get them to do something positive, whether it's hugging their kids, giving up a parking space to someone, or just smiling at the sunshine," Pharez Whitted said in discussing his 2012 album, For the People.

Earlier this year, Brian OHern and the Model Citizens celebrated their twentieth anniversary as one of the city's feistiest club attractions. An unusual big band that, as catalogued by its leader, plays "straight jazz, out jazz, boogaloos, rock covers, waltzes, marches, church music, hora, bolero, rumba, calypso, corals, and anthems,"

Drummer Nasheet Waits, pianist Orrin Evans and bassist Eric Revis are all recognized for their singular contributions to jazz. Though Waits is best known as a member of Jason Moran's Bandwagon, he has graced the music of many leading artists with his dynamism and surpassing time feel.

Benny Golson is one of the last of a dying breed, twice over. He's one of a handful of surviving giants on the tenor saxophone, a soloist of immaculate style, soulful depth and instantly identifiable expression

The untimely death of Charlie Haden in 2014 not only stole from us one of the two or three greatest jazz bassists of the modern era, it also removed one of the music's true visionaries and conceptualists. If Haden had done nothing more than form the Liberation Music Orchestra, a fluctuating group of all-stars devoted to making soaring humanistic statements, he would deserve a p

A Polish native who moved to Chicago when he was 11, trombonist Luke Malewicz has been absorbing the sounds of this city ever since. As he shows on his album, Green Ruins, a set of originals including a warm tribute to trombone giant Curtis Fuller (via a resetting of Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa"), Malewicz knows his way around hard bop.

The 2014 winner of the DownBeat Award for Best Collegiate Vocal Jazz Soloist, and a top finisher in other competitions, Alyssa Allgood is one of jazz's most promising young singers. A devotee of classic Blue Note recordings, she isn't timid about coining new lyrics to them or crafting new arrangements.

As the leader of the quartet you'll hear tonight (and can hear on its new album, Vortices), Lepine offers a buoyant take on free jazz in improvising over structured harmonies and taking the chord-liberating "time, no changes" approach patented by Miles Davis's quintet.

The popular young saxophonist Chris Greene is an artist with a lot of get up and go. Since studying with the sadly departed David Baker at Indiana University, the Evanston native has insinuated himself into all kinds of styles and sounds, linking up with such artists as rapper Common, acid jazz band Liquid Soul and free jazz genius Steve Coleman.

Tenor saxophonist JD Allen's ongoing series of recordings with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums have been so strong, you wonder if they can get any better – or do more to raise the bar for tenor trios, all of which hark back to Sonny Rollins' great late-'50s efforts.

What do you do when you love the burn and churn of an organ-driven combo and the harmonic colors of a big band? For trumpeter Victor Garcia, who led a quartet with organist Dan Trudell and co-led the Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, the solution was simple: Split the difference between formats by forming an organ septet.

The Jazz Journalists Association couldn't have made a better choice in naming Tatsu Aoki a Jazz Hero for his oversized contribution to this city – as a musician, bandleader, founder of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, ethnomusicologist, community organizer and teacher.

Not so long ago in places like Chicago, where one of his proudest mentors was Von Freeman, Eric Alexander was recognized as one of the future standard-bearers of the tenor saxophone tradition. More than most players his age, Alexander connected on a deep level with that tradition, which he strove to serve rather than overhaul.

In speaking a universal language, jazz has proven to be among the most mobile of musical genres, as witness the impact Israel's Cohen siblings, Anat, Avishai and Yuval, have had on the American scene during their relatively short time here.

Tuesday September 6

Pianist Alexis Lombre has amassed a string of impressive credits and honors while studying with such keyboard legends as Benny Green and Chicago favorite Willie Pickens. The South Side native, a four-time Ravinia Jazz Scholar, will lead her quintet, ranging from bebop to soul to contemporary jazz.

As someone with seasoning in both the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and Chicago Jazz Ensemble, as well as the Concert Jazz Band at the University of Miami, trombonist Kendall Moore is a natural to lead an octet – otherwise known as a little big band.

One of the great things about milestones – such as Erwin Helfer's 80th birthday, which was officially celebrated back in January but we joyfully mark with his latest festival appearance – is that they shine a light on extraordinary artists we sometimes take for granted.

Chicago's loss has been New York's gain for vibraphonist Joel Ross, who while studying with Stefon Harris at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is making his presence felt in the Big Apple. As the leader of Good Vibes, a rotating group of young peers, he has lost none of the eagerness he demonstrated five years ago as a 16-year-old prodigy trading licks on "'Round M

Fondly remembered by fans of a certain age for his stints at the Beehive on 55th Street, where his trio backed the likes of Charlie Parker and Lester Young, Simmons is perhaps best known for his work with singers. He has accompanied such greats as Helen Humes, Carmen McRae, Joe Williams and the recently deceased Ernestine Anderson.

Led by Chris Weller on tenor saxophone and featuring fellow Oak Parker Cole DeGenova on keyboards and Devin Drobka on drums, this improvising trio brings a blazing rock sensibility to its experimental free bop, with a strong dose of DKV Trio-school funk. Products of Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, they recently recorded their second album with Bad Plus drummer Da

Twenty-five years ago, the awesome foursome of guitarist Bobby Broom, pianist Ron Perrillo, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer George Fludas first hit the local club scene, performing at places like the Bop Shop and Andy's. Now here they are, distinguished veterans of the scene, reuniting to celebrate their good fortunes.

Once exposed to tenor saxophonist and South Side native John Foster-Brooks' power-packed 15-piece band – whose name was the brainchild of a former teacher of his – it's unlikely you'll soon forget them. Introduced in 2009 and re-installed in New York two years later, the FMBBB bears the strong personality of its leader, singled out by the Chicago Tribune as a young artist to wa

Whether hosting its top artists, mounting special theme shows or having second line bands snake through the park to greet arriving spectators, the Chicago Jazz Festival has from its start maintained a close connection to New Orleans – and emphasized the strong historical connections between the Crescent City and the Windy City.

After returning to the spotlight in 2012 via an acclaimed recording of the 2007 concert that reunited the '70s trio he played in with Rivers and Dave Holland, Altschul has keep his momentum going. A drummer with a big stylistic appetite, he enjoys combining different kinds of grooves, drawing from all manner of jazz, jazz-rock fusion and world music.

Drawing on the most tuneful freebop, East European marches, sinuous Middle Eastern melodies and gutbucket blues, the Blue Lights find a perfect balance between composition and improvisation. They'll be dipping into their two irresistible recordings: Songs from the Big Book of Love and the cassette-only Hash Eaters and Peacekeepers.

As the nephew of saxophonist Donald Harrison, New Orleans native Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah had a great role model growing up – not only a fantastic musician who played with deep conviction, but also one who, as much as he dedicated himself to tradition, never felt hampered by it.

Now billed as co-leaders, the guitarist and saxophonist "share a dialect of gruff eloquence, rooted as much in rhythm and blues as in the lessons of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman," said New York Times critic Nate Chinen. The ghosts of B.B. King, Ray Charles and Horace Silver also dance through the songs, Scofield originals, some of which were written years ago.

Is this a golden age for jazz drummers? With so many traps artists leading their own bands and making terrific recordings, it sure seems that way. One of the standout albums to emerge from this trend is Chicagoan Charles Rumback's 2016 effort, In the New Year.